Third clash holds sway for Crew, K.C.
Primetime battle could set tone for season's second half
Related
COLUMBUS CREW STADIUM, Columbus, Ohio
July 17, 2008 | 8 p.m. ET (ESPN2/DEPORTES)
WEEK # 17 | GAME # 111
The Columbus Crew and Kansas City Wizards meet for the third time this season, and while they are at opposite ends of the Eastern Conference table, the MLS Primetime Thursday matchup at Crew Stadium will be important for both to kick off the second half of the season. The Wizards haven't lost since a 3-0 drubbing in Kansas City by the Crew - their first game back home after two months and six road tilts. The Crew saw their four-game unbeaten streak come to an end last week at Real Salt Lake; they've won both previous meetings with the Wizards this season.
REFEREE: Abbey Okulaja. SAR (bench): C.J. Morgante; JAR (opposite): Paul Scott; 4th: Shane Moody
MLS Career: 78 games; FC/gm: 29.3; Y/gm: 3.6; R: 11; pens: 21
INJURY REPORT: COLUMBUS CREW - OUT: DF Gino Padula (L hamstring strain) ... KANSAS CITY WIZARDS - OUT: DF Jonathan Leathers (knee sprain); DOUBTFUL: MF Carlos Marinelli (hamstring strain), DF Rauwshan McKenzie (hamstring strain)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: CLB: Frankie Hejduk ... KC: Jack Jewsbury
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: CLB: Adam Moffat, Danny O'Rourke ... KC: Kerry Zavagnin
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (36 meetings): Crew 16 wins (0 shootout), 61 goals ... Wizards 16 wins (2 shootout), 56 goals ... Ties 4
AT COLUMBUS: (19 meetings): Crew 10 wins (0 shootout), 31 goals ... Wizards 7 wins (1 shootout), 26 goals ... Ties 2
• This is the third of three meetings between the clubs this season, the second one at Crew Stadium. The Crew have won the first two, winning on each ground this season.
• Home-field advantage held true in the season series a year ago, with the Wizards winning two of the three encounters - both at Arrowhead Stadium - and the Crew the lone match in Columbus.
• The Crew's win last season was their first against Kansas City in nearly two years. The Wizards won all four meetings in 2006 and had a five-game winning streak in the series before the Columbus win.
• The Wizards have won eight of the last 13 meetings between the teams, over the past three-plus seasons.
• Coaches record: Sigi Schmid vs. KC: P31 W13 L14 D4 ... Curt Onalfo v CLB: P5 W2 L3 D0
2008 (MLS):
5/10: CLB 2, KC 1 (Moffat 4; Rogers 34 - Lopez 79 pen)
6/14: KC 0, CLB 3 (Marshall 3; Moreno 21, 67)
• The Crew took a 2-1 victory in the first meeting between the teams this season, May 10 at Crew Stadium. Adam Moffat headed the Crew into the lead after just four minutes, then Robbie Rogers doubled the lead in the 34th minute. Roger Espinoza was sent off two minutes later, leaving K.C. a man down, but Claudio Lopez converted a penalty 11 minutes from the end, though it wasn't enough.
• Then on June 14, the Crew's first visit to CommunityAmerica Ballpark, Columbus spoiled a Kansas City homecoming after a six-game road swing with a 3-0 victory.
• Shut out for a club-record four consecutive matches, it didn't take the Crew long to put an end to their goalless streak. In just the third minute, Chad Marshall rose up in the heart of the Kansas City penalty area to head home a Guillermo Barros Schelotto corner kick, the first Columbus goal in 370 minutes.
• The Crew doubled their lead in the 21st minute. Danny O'Rourke sent a high cross-field ball from the right touchline, and Alejandro Moreno tracked it down outside the left corner of the box. With Kevin Hartman ranging well off his line to try and clear, Moreno hooked a shot back across his body and inside the right post for his first goal since April 26.
• Columbus finished off the match at the three-quarter mark of the contest. Schelotto took a pass from Rogers and chipped it into the area, it falling to the left of goal. Moreno steamed in and hammered a first-time drive inside the near post, past Hartman, for his sixth goal on the campaign.
• Here's Onalfo's team (4-4-2): Kevin Hartman - Jonathan Leathers, Jimmy Conrad, Aaron Hohlbein (Ryan Pore 71), Michael Harrington - Davy Arnaud, Jack Jewsbury, Kerry Zavagnin (Sasha Victorine 57), Carlos Marinelli (Ivan Trujillo 75) - Scott Sealy, Claudio Lopez. Substitutes Not Used: Eric Kronberg, Kurt Morsink, Chance Myers, Tyson Wahl
• Here's Schmid's team (4-4-1-1): William Hesmer - Danny O'Rourke, Chad Marshall, Andy Iro, Ryan Junge - Emmanuel Ekpo (Cory Elenio 81), Duncan Oughton, Brian Carroll, Robbie Rogers - Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Jason Garey 79) - Alejandro Moreno (Nicolas Hernandez 89). Substitutes Not Used: Andy Gruenebaum, Steven Lenhart, Gino Padula, Jed Zayner
COLUMBUS CREW
The Columbus Crew saw their high-scoring unbeaten run come to an end, falling 2-0 to Real Salt Lake last Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium. The Crew remain in second place in the Eastern Conference with 27 points from 16 matches, still six behind the New England Revolution and three ahead of the Chicago Fire.
LAST MATCH
• Real Salt Lake were remaining at home for a second consecutive week, where they were still unbeaten on the season, while the Crew came to the Wasatch Front riding a four-game unbeaten streak where they had scored 10 goals.
• With the third opportunity of the season to move into the Western Conference lead, RSL got a dream start. In the fourth minute, after winning a free kick just at top of the penalty arc, Javier Morales whipped a free kick through an opening in the Crew wall and into the back of the net for his second goal of the year.
• RSL's recent first-choice strike pair of Kenny Deuchar and Robbie Findley both started on the bench, with Real shut out in four of their last six games. But they teamed to put the game away in the 78th minute. Deuchar rose up to win Nick Rimando's goal kick sent far downfield, and Findley raced on to collect the flick-on, pushing it around Crew 'keeper William Hesmer as he came off his line and tucking it into the goal.
• Crew head coach Sigi Schmid made one change to the team that played to a 2-2 draw at the Chicago Fire the previous Saturday. Ryan Junge returned to the back four as Andy Iro returned to the substitutes' bench.
• Here's Schmid's team (4-1-3-1-1):William Hesmer - Frankie Hejduk, Chad Marshall, Danny O'Rourke, Ryan Junge (Stefani Miglioranzi 56) - Brian Carroll - Emmanuel Ekpo (Duncan Oughton 51), Brad Evans, Robbie Rogers - Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Steven Lenhart 70) - Alejandro Moreno. Substitutes Not Used: Jason Garey, Andy Gruenebaum, Andy Iro, Jed Zayner
• "Until Deuchar and Findley came in at the end, and we opened ourselves up because we were pushing forward, I don't think Salt Lake had a huge amount of chances," Schmid said. "They had more possession and jumped on more things, but I don't think either team was really super goal dangerous."
TEAM NEWS
• In their last four outings, the Crew had racked up 10 goals, never being held to a single goal in each match. Getting shutout by Salt Lake was the first time the Crew were held scoreless in more than a month -- it was also their last loss when they lost 2-0 to San Jose at Crew Stadium on June 7.
• "I just think we didn't look sharp," said Schmid. "We had a couple of opportunities, if Guillermo scores and makes it 1-1, instead of hitting the post, that changes the game. I thought Marshall had a pretty open header, on the corner. If he puts that one in I think the game tips a little bit and we get a little momentum. We needed a shot of adrenaline, and the only way that was going to come was through a goal, and that didn't happen."
• As well, RSL's sixth-minute opener was the third time in the past four matches that the Crew were scored on in the first eight minutes. The Crew have allowed a league-high six goals in the first 15 minutes. No one else has given up more than four.
• "We took a goal in the first five minutes, and you're behind the 8-ball in the first five minutes," said Crew defender Frankie Hejduk. "We've been doing that a lot this year. In games past we fought back ... and either fought back and tied it or won it. Today we weren't so lucky."
• The Crew attack was hampered by the loss of right midfielder Emmanuel Ekpo, who had scored in the previous two matches. He was sick to his stomach at halftime and was replaced by Duncan Oughton in the 51st minute.
• "He's someone who can create something out of nothing. He's a great positional player," O'Rourke said of Ekpo. "It's a different dimension that we lost."
• Schmid's other substitutions were Stefani Miglioranzi for rookie left back Ryan Junge, who was making his first start in three games, and Schelotto was replaced by rookie forward Steven Lenhart, who came off the bench for a fourth consecutive game.
• "Ryan Junge was struggling on the offensive end of the game. We felt there was space to play out of the back so we brought in Stefani, who's a better passer," Schmid said. "It was one of those games that turned into getting the ball wide and crosses. We didn't think it was Guillermo's game per se. We wanted to get an extra body in front of the box to get on the end of something."
• The Crew suffered their third consecutive shutout on artificial turf this season after a 2-0 loss to New York and a 0-0 tie at Toronto. "It's a coincidence," Brad Evans said. "Last year we scored a few on turf, winning at Toronto. I don't know if it's a mental block. It's something that happens. The goals will still come."
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS
The Kansas City Wizards won for the second time in three weeks and ran their unbeaten streak to four games, holding on for a 2-1 win against the New York Red Bulls at CommunityAmerica Ballpark last Thursday. The Wizards moved into a tie for sixth place in the Eastern Conference with the win, level with the Red Bulls with 20 points from 15 games, a point behind Toronto FC.
LAST MATCH
• The Wizards had won just once in the last eight games and were coming off a U.S. Open quarterfinal loss just two days before. The Red Bulls had won just once in their last five games, last falling 4-0 to the Colorado Rapids.
• The Wizards got the start they were looking for on their home ground. Claudio Lopez whipped in a corner kick from the left and Jimmy Conrad once again rose up to nod home for his career-best fourth goal on the campaign.
• Kansas City doubled the lead just two minutes after the break. A defense-splitting through ball from Kurt Morsink found Davy Arnaud haring forward on the right, and he flicked the ball around Red Bulls 'keeper Jon Conway as he raced off the line, the first time since April 5 the Wizards had hit for more than a single goal in a league match.
• The Red Bulls pulled a goal back 19 minutes from the end. Dane Richards flighted in a cross from the right and Juan Pablo Angel, making his first start since June 5, headed home his third goal on the campaign. The Red Bulls hit the post and saw Kevin Hartman make a stellar save to deny their bid for a late leveler.
• Wizards head coach made no changes to the team that played to a 1-1 draw with FC Dallas, running out the same first XI for a third consecutive game.
• Here's Onalfo's team (4-4-2): Kevin Hartman - Jack Jewsbury, Jimmy Conrad, Aaron Hohlbein, Michael Harrington - Davy Arnaud, Kurt Morsink, Sasha Victorine, Claudio Lopez - Scott Sealy (Roger Espinoza 63), Ivan Trujillo (Ryan Pore 74). Substitutes Not Used: Eric Kronberg, Jonathan Leathers, Chance Myers, Tyson Wahl, Kerry Zavagnin
• "We're extremely pleased to get the three points. It puts us right back in the mix. Today was a must-win as far as I was concerned," Onalfo said. " ... Still, there are times in the game where we are a little too naïve and we give them too much territory and allow them to at least get back into it. We fell asleep, and we got punished. When you fall asleep, Angel is going to punish you."
TEAM NEWS
• Despite a long road stretch and long winless streak, the Wizards rounded out the first half of the season with two wins in three games and are now unbeaten since the 3-0 crash to the Crew at home on June 14.
• "It's been an uphill battle, and we're at .500 halfway through the season," said Onalfo. "We need to continue to move up. We need to be positioned well by the last 10 games of the season so we can make a run for sure to make the playoffs and try to get home-field advantage."
• In the last 2-1/2 months, the Wizards have suffered through a seven-game winless streak (six of those on the road) and a recent run of five games in 13 days.
• "We don't make excuses, but I'll tell you what: Any other team put in the situation we've been put in, I don't think they'd come out with the same results we've gotten," said Onalfo. "So I feel proud of the group, and I feel like we're a little bit hardened."
• For Conrad, his fourth goal of the campaign matched his career-high, set in 2003 in his first season with the Wizards. They have all been headers, three coming off corner kicks and the fourth off a free kick.
• "We've been playing well ever since the Columbus game," said Conrad. "It was a nice, rude awakening for us to say, 'What kind of season do we really want to have? Do we want to let it pass us by? Or do we really want to make something of it?'"
• The day after the New York league game, the Wizards defeated Mexican Primera División side Atlas 2-1 at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. Nelson Pizarro put the Wizards in the lead in the 37th minute, then after Ulises Mendival equalized just before halftime, Michael Kraus turned home a Pizarro feed in stoppage time for the winner.
• Onalfo ran out a team that was completely different from the team that played against the Red Bulls, and featured 10 of the 11 starters that began the Open Cup quarterfinal loss to the Seattle Sounders (in a penalty shootout).
• Here's Onalfo's team: Eric Kronberg (Boris Pardo 46), Chance Myers, Rauwshan McKenzie, Tyson Wahl, Matt Marquess, Jonathan Leathers (Michael Kraus 73), Kerry Zavagnin (Ryan McMahen 46), Roger Espinoza, Lance Watson (Geoff Miles 89), Nelson Pizarro, Ryan Pore
• "Our guys have played enormous minutes," said Onalfo. "We felt the best way to go about them was to stick with two clear teams for the most part ... It was a great opportunity for our young players to play against experienced players with a lot of savvy."
